2009 Christmas Greetings

[littlespirit]

Merry Christmas!

We hope this holiday finds you healthy and happy.  This is the first Christmas letter we've sent out in a few years.  Believe it or not, I (Laurie) did write the letters each year, but life was so busy that they just didn't get sent.  The kids are now 5 and 7, and we are officially into the school-age years.  Four years ago, we moved up to northwest Arkansas for Scott's job and we are still here, loving life in the Midwest.  Soon after we moved here, I was diagnosed with fibromyalgia, which is a chronic pain disorder.  It has been difficult for all of us learning to live with a chronic illness.  God has given strength and help and has even made it possible for me to reach out to other women with chronic illness on a couple of internet websites.  That has been a blessing and has given me a sense of hope and purpose in the midst of the pain. 

Ashley is in 2nd grade.  She is our social butterfly and loves to be with friends.  She also likes to read and draw.  Early in the year she learned to ride her bicycle without training wheels.  In July she crashed and flew over her handle bars landing face first into the pavement.  Miraculously, the only injuries she had were her two front teeth came out and the permanent one had to be reimplanted.  It continues to give her problems due to infection and we think the tooth may have to come out permanently.  Please remember her in your prayers because we need that tooth to stay in so the maxillary bone can grow normally. 

Michael turns six in February, and is in kindergarten.  He was introduced to the world of football this year.  He loves it!  He knows the days of the week based on whether there is Sunday, Monday, or Thursday night football.  In school, his teacher had the kids write a sentence about what they want for Christmas.  His sentence said, "I want a football helmet."   He runs all over the house playing football and tackling himself to the ground.  I have no doubt that someday he will be our football star.

Scott is working for a local hospital in their finance department.  This year I also went back to work as a nurse part-time.  I work for a children's developmental daycare, which is a preschool for kids who have medical or developmental challenges.  This year has been an exciting milestone for us, as we have been married for ten years on December 18th.  We can hardly believe that it has been ten years.  It has been filled with ups and downs, as all of our lives are, but God has been faithful each step of the way to provide strength and help for the challenges we have faced.

We hope that you are doing well and that this holiday season will be filled with blessings for you.  Please keep in touch with us, and we will try to do better about that also!  Our email addresses are [e-mail] and [e-mail].

With much love,

Laurie, Scott, Ashley, and Michael